Guess what I came across in the bargain bin recently? The original Ju-on: The Grudge II, you know the one that does not have a re-adapted storyline with brand new cast members to suit a different audience? Alright, so I am not a fan of remakes and prefer the originals. After all, they retain the essence of what it a cult classic. Well, this is the second part of that fantastic horror series by Takashi Shimizu and it is well worth watching.
As you can imagine, the story followed a meandering flip-back-and-forth sort of pathway and thus, required a bit of intense concentration. That's right, no high-paced instant actions bits and cheap thrills here. If you watched the first part, the second part will certainly live up to your expectations. The basic storyline is about a variety TV show which talks about haunted houses. These guys get the brilliant idea to cover one episode in the creepy house (yes, it's that same freaky house from part one). And they decide to get the most well known horror actress for that episode. Later on, everyone who was part of that episode falls under the curse. Hah, didn't see that coming after the first spate of deaths in the first movie, did you? It also gets better; the horror queen, Kyoko, has a weird scum-spawn thing growing in her womb. I don't want to describe it in any other way as the narration style and timeline jumps unveil the rest of the story in a brilliant manner.
Ju-on II had a similar horror theme style to the first part. The director builds up suspense by flitting in between the present and the future. Once you realize that the frightening scene just now was a glimpse into the future, you know what to expect but there is always something new added to that scenario. Case in point are the disturbing death scenes involving Tomoka and her boyfriend Noritaka. Sure, we might have expected that ghostly kid's lengthy-haired mom to be involved by I never factored in the origin of the scary bumping noises.
And of course, the two main ghosts (Kayako and her sonny boy) pop up everywhere in this movie. That pasty-faced little boy act never seems to get old; but then again, the kid is thrown into the weirdest, most chilling circumstances. I mean, if you saw the pale brat grappling onto the steering wheel while you were driving, bet you would have a panic attack too. And the number of times Kayako flips her hair about and snares something/someone in it is kind of disturbing. I must confess that Kayako was not as frightening as the little kid whereas in the first part the duo worked together to give everyone the chills.
On an ending note, there appears to be good news for die-hard fans. Not for the folks in this movie but regarding any upcoming sequels for the Ju-on series. There are going to be two Ju-on sequels this year - Ju-on: Shiroi Rojo and Ju-on: Kuroi Shojo. The first one apparently means the "old lady in white" while the latter is "girl in black". These two seem to follow the same pattern of cursed murders and ghostly sightings, at least if these reports are anything to go by. I suppose the defining factor will be the direction and thrills used in the movie. Fans of the Ju-on series will want to keep an eye out for these two.